The header on the Executive Summary are the same. It is a working document and not a complete document.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO VOLUME II (same reference source)

Our obstruction-of-justice inquiry focused on a series of actions by the President that related to the Russian-interference investigations, including the President's conduct towards the law enforcement officials overseeing the investigations and the witnesses to relevant events.

Focus on the actions of the president is not difficult. He carries out his law breaking within public view as if that is going to exonerate him. Trump doesn't care about law enforcement, except, as a campaign issue. He will carry on about the police and their good work, but, when it comes down to the Rule of Law he could care less. Any person working on this report expects respect and should be getting it.

Trump's rantings about a Deep State is only campaign rhetoric, but, he is doing his level best to make the lie become the truth. The fact the Special Counsel picked up the disrespect toward the efforts of these prosecutors is not a surprise to me. They were attacks that should have never occurred and the Former Director of the FBI, James Comey should still be leading the department.

Rudy Guiliani can claim to be mayor of New York City at the time of September 11th, but, Robert Mueller lead the FBI because he was worried about this country.

April 19, 2002

...As much as I miss San Francisco, (click here) I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve in what I believe to be the world's finest law enforcement agency -- the FBI. It is particularly rewarding to serve at this unparalleled moment in history, when America is depending on the FBI more than ever, when protecting the homeland from terrorist attacks has taken on new meaning and new urgency.

Like most Americans, I'll never forget the day it all began. I had been on the job exactly one week when word came that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. We rushed down to the FBI's command center, hoping it had been a terrible accident but fearing the worst. Minutes later, we watched in horror as a plane hit the second tower. Then, reality hit even closer to home, when across the Potomac, another plane rammed into the Pentagon.

I don't want to hear a word about the Deep State. It is completely baseless and political rhetoric. Every American has a profound debt of gratitude to Robert S. Mueller. if there was a trace of a Deep State in this country, he would be the very first person to report it and do something about it. I have no worry about any Deep State AND NEVER WILL regardless of the policial hack known as Bill Barr.

Why does Trump carry out his law breaking in view of the public, besides the fact it provides a venue of legitimacy when a USA president carries it out?

Because the Justice Manual says it does not indict a sitting president. Not even one that CHRONICALLY breaks the law?

FACTUAL RESULTS OF THE OBSTRUCTION INVESTIGATION

The key issues and events we examined include the following:

The Campaign's response to reports about Russian support for Trump. During the 2016 presidential campaign, questions arose about the Russian government's apparent support for candidate Trump. After WikiLeaks released politically damaging Democratic Party emails that were reported to have been hacked by Russia, Trump publicly expressed skepticism that Russia was responsible for the hacks at the same time that he and other Campaign officials privately sought information....

The FBI had engaged in an investigation AS IT SHOULD HAVE when it was discovered the DCCC and the Clinton Campaign had their cyber accounts hacked. There are laws about such issues and they are not minor laws. The FBI was compelled to enter into an investigation because there were laws broken. This was not a Deep State attempting to discredit a political candidate. This was the JOB the FBI was supposed to do.

To the FBI the facts were obvious. They found EVIDENCE that the Russian Federation was responsible for the hacking. There were traces in the cyber record that proved the culprit. Donald J. Trump wanted to discredit the FBI by providing cover for Russia. He did it as a candidate and he continues to carry out these myths about a Deep State to create the idea the Russian Federation IS A VICTIM.

When an American lays down cover for the Russian Federation they are automatically a concern to the intelligence agencies of the USA.

The cyber attacks were unilateral and did not have any effect on the Trump campaign and Donald J. Trump was laying down cover for Russia. You betcha there was going to be an investigation.

HARM TO ONGOING MATTER

...about any further planned WikiLeaks releases.... 

I think I can guess what the ongoing matter is. Trump lied. We know he lied because his company was actively seeking a Trump Tower in Moscow even after the election results were in.

...Trump also denied having any business in or connections to Russia, even though as late as June 2016 the Trump Organization had been pursuing a licensing deal for a skyscraper to be built in Russia called Trump Tower Moscow. After the election, the President expressed concerns to advisors that reports of Russia's election interference might lead the public to question the legitimacy of his election.

Ya think? Trump's worry about the way Russia would perceive an investigation is what lead to the Twitter firing of James Comey. The Former Director of the FBI, James Comey would not agree to a loyalty oath to Trump. Below is the oath James Comey took.

I [name] (click here) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

What could possibly be an oath to Trump that would be better than those words? If Trump wanted to change the oath to include himself there are ways of doing that through Homeland Security where the FBI is housed as an authority. I don't know why anyone would want it changed. It seems like a perfect and constitutional oath.

(Trump's) Conduct involving FBI Director Comey and Michael Flynn. In mid-January 2017, incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn falsely denied to the Vice President, other administration officials, and FBI agents that he had talked to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about Russia's response to U.S. sanctions on Russia for its election interference....

The surveillance of Michael Flynn was routine. There was nothing exceptional about it. The FBI or CIA would not need a warrant for listening in on matters that concern the country of a person no longer a private citizen. 

On January 27, the day after the President was told that Flynn had lied to the Vice President and had made similar statements to the FBI, the President invited FBI Director Corney to a private dinner at the White House and told Corney that he needed loyalty. On February 14, the day after the President requested Flynn's resignation, the President told an outside advisor, "Now that we fired Flynn, the Russia thing is over." The advisor disagreed and said the investigations would continue.

Flynn didn't have to lie. He had to know the intelligence services were listening. The entire episode with Flynn is curious because he knew better. He was former USA military intelligence. He knew the degree to which listening took place. The fact Flynn lied is extremely curious. It is what got him in trouble with the Special Counsel investigation.

I think it is still unclear who and under what circumstances someone in the administration provided the documents Trump gave to Russians in the Oval Office.

I think it is worth realizing that when testimony is taken by the Special Counsel and Congress there is an understanding the witness will respond truthfully to questions.

Do you solemnly (swear/affirm) that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, (so help you God/under pains and penalties of perjury)?

Lies indicate an obstruction. The US relies on the truth to carry out the Rule of Law. When it becomes obvious there are lies propagated by persons of interest, there must be a pursuit of the truth. Rove changed his testimony six times before the Grand Jury regarding the outing of Valerie Plame in retaliation for an Op-Ed written by her spouse, Ambassador Joe Wilson. Yet, Rove was never indicted. If he was caught lying without correcting the information to the Grand Jury he would have been indicted on crimes. Yet, Flynn lied as did many others. If find that very curious.

Later that afternoon, the President cleared the Oval Office to have a one-on-one meeting with Corney. Referring to the FBI's investigation of Flynn, the President said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. T hope you can let this go." Shortly after requesting Flynn's resignation and speaking privately to Corney, the President sought to have Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland draft an internal letter stating that the President had not directed Flynn to discuss sanctions with Kislyak. McFarland declined because she did not know whether that was true, and a White House Counsel's Office attorney thought that the request would look like a quid pro quo for an ambassadorship she had been offered. 

What are all these letters Trump demands from seasoned professionals? He solicits letters, like that of the Asst. Attorney General Rosenstein. Trump is a strange guy. He arrives in the Oval Office overinflated with his own authority knowing his brand is firing people and proceeds to solicit career professionals for letters that are unethical to ask for in the first place.

He does not belong in government. His understanding of the world doesn't even border on professional. When a family company is run by members of the family it appears as though they hold a great deal of power But, that "idea" of power disappears when they enter government, especially the presidency. This is not a CEO's job. This is a government capacity that has others to answer to in ways that are important. That is why the Office of the White House Counsel exists. 

Trump refuses to give up his idea of authority even as the courts shoot down his proclamations. I suppose that is why it is so important for Trump to assign judges at a feverish pace. HIS JUDGES will allow all the proclamations he declares. Amazingly simpleton.

The President's reaction to the continuing Russia investigation. Tn February 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions began to assess whether he had to recuse himself from campaign related investigations because of his role in the Trump Campaign. Tn early March, the President told White House Counsel Donald McGahn to stop Sessions from recusing. And after Sessions announced his recusal on March 2, the President expressed anger at the decision and told advisors that he should have an Attorney General who would protect him. That weekend, the President took Sessions aside at an event and urged him to "unrecuse." Later in March, Corney publicly disclosed at a congressional hearing that the FBI was investigating "the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," including any links or coordination between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign. In the following days, the President reached out to the Director of National Intelligence and the leaders of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) to ask them what they could do to publicly dispel the suggestion that the President had any connection to the Russian election-interference effort. The President also twice called Corney directly, notwithstanding guidance from McGahn to avoid direct contacts with the Department of Justice. Corney had previously assured the President that the FBI was not investigating him personally, and the President asked Corney to " lift the cloud" of the Russia investigation by saying that publicly.

Trump causes a lot of ethical problems for professionals that work for him. How can a Director of the FBI lift the cloud of the Russian investigation when the reason the president wasn't being investigated was because of a stupid opinion in the Justice Manual? That doesn't mean Trump is innocent. It just means Trump wasn't being investigated personally. A very uninformed man would think those things. Trump doesn't get it. If he wasn't on Twitter day in and day out he might have time to ask questions of professionals available to him to explain the law.

continued in next entry - It is time for dinner.

I am not going to apologize for starting this later than I had planned. I have a life and sometimes that means complications in ways not planned. 

So, with that, let me pull up the report and start reading.

I know I left off with three stars indicating a change in topic. This is the very end of the Introduction of Volume 2.

This report on our investigation consists of four parts. Section I provides an overview of obstruction-of-justice principles and summarizes certain investigatory and evidentiary considerations. Section II sets forth the factual results of our obstruction investigation and analyzes the evidence. Section III addresses statutory and constitutional defenses. Section IV states our conclusion.

There is a lot of instruction to Volume II. I believe it is to bring clarity of the law to the US Congress. HOWEVER, I am already miffed with the DOJ in the fact they will not indict the president, which I believe causes a constitutional crisis and is simply a horrible policy. So, I have no doubt I will not see the instructions as beneficial, necessarily. I don't believe I am alone in that regard either.

THE DOJ IS SUPPOSED TO PREVENT A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS.

Then there are footnotes which I will review before going to the Executive Summary of Volume II. 

5 For that reason, criticisms have been lodged against the practice of naming unindicted coconspirators in an indictment. See United States v.Briggs,514 F.2d 794,802 (5th Cir. 1975) ("The courts have struck down with strong language efforts by grand juries to accuse persons of crime while affording them no forum in which to vindicate themselves."); see also Justice Manual § 9-11.130.

GODBOLD, Circuit Judge: (click here for United States v. Briggs)

Appellants were named as "unindicted conspirators" in an indictment by a federal grand jury charging a highly publicized conspiracy. In this case they challenge the power of the grand jury to charge them with criminal conduct in this manner without indicting them. We conclude that the grand jury exceeded its power and authority and that its action was a denial of due process to appellants.

I don't believe there is something else to understand. Any denial of due process automatically ends the case before any judge in the USA. I believe due process is the 4th amendment. 

Amendment IV (click here)

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

You know what surprises me about US v. Briggs? The fact it took place in 1972. I would expect a young country to stumble over itself to some extent and FORGET that due process ends the abuse of a king/dictator. But, this was 1972. It was focused on Republicans and Nixon was in office.

This is the law the Grand Jury relied on to indict co-conspirators.

18 U.S.C. § 371 (click here)

Updated March 21, 2019

I don't know how I feel about the update either.

If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor.

The defendants or unnamed conspirators did some very dangerous and illegal acts. That is strange to me. That four people could simply walk away from their illegal acts because a grand jury indicted without due process. 

Oh, well. I don't disagree with the citation or the judge. I find it strange a prosecutor would be this remiss. I have to wonder what kind of instructions were provided to the grand jury.

If I hear one more reference to the Justice Manual I will probably emesis.

6 OLC Op. at 259 & n.38 (citation omitted). 

This is another opinion (click here) that would back up the actions by the Special Counsel. I am not going sort through this.

There are other online references when trying to discern these citations (click here). I am not saying this particular reference is an authority, but, it is another way of accessing legal references.

I will tell you how annoyed I am about the "Justice Manual." The American people pay taxes so their federal government works. There are excellent men and women, Robert S. Mueller is one of them, that works and worked for the Justice Department. These people invested in education and practices that would bring them to a pinnacle for their career. WHY DO THEY NEED A MANUAL?

I have pure and utter disdain for the Justice Manual. To me, it is nothing more than an ego trip by the Attorney General to intimidate US Attorneys and put them in a situation whereby THEIR METHODS will endanger the job they are doing for the American people. 

I am sure I will have more musings about this manual in the future. But, it makes absolutely no sense to me. NONE!

If they can't do the job without a politically oriented manual then they don't belong in the US Attorney's office.

This is completely off topic, but, I have wanted to make an entry for some time now. This is about China.

See that pretty lady in the picture. She was known as Ms. Ma. She disappeared at least six months ago. That happens a lot in China. People disappear because they are picked up by the authorities.

"Why China Silenced Clickbait Queen in for Information Control" (click here)

She disappeared before the arrests of a Huawei executive in Canada.

This entire communications issue is a real concern for the USA for many reasons.

continue the Special Counsel report in next entry

I will be back to read the Special Counsel report.

In the meantime, Noam Chomsky is saying something I believe many that embrace democracy already knows.

May 27, 2019
By Amy Goodman

In April, (cick here) hundreds of people packed into the Old South Church in Boston to hear the world-renowned dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky speak. He looked back at the rise of fascism in the 20th century and the growing ultranationalist movements of today, from Brazil and the United States to Israel and Saudi Arabia....

The Indiana abortion law portion upheld by the US Supreme Court does two things.

It ends the use of fetal tissue in medical research and it makes abortion more expensive by a few hundred dollars. Cremated or buried remains make it impossible for use by medical research.

It is obviously the work of the extreme right wing of the Republican party as signed by Mike Pence when he was governor. It is a ridiculous notion. It is a further attempt by the political right wing to make a fetus a citizen.

May 28,, 2019
By Tucker Higgins

The Supreme Court on Monday (click here) reversed an appeals court ruling striking down an Indiana abortion law governing the disposal of fetal remains, which was signed by Vice President Mike Pence when he was governor of the state. The law, among other provisions, barred the incineration of fetal remains alongside surgical byproducts. 

The court declined to take up a second case involving so-called “discriminatory” abortions.

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down that law, which barred abortions sought because of the fetus’s expected race or disability status. The court’s order on Monday will keep the law from being enforced, though the justices did not take a position on the constitutionality of the regulation. 

The announcement was made in an order released on the court’s website. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor would have let the lower court ruling that blocked the fetal remains law stand....

This more or less falls into line with burial possibilities following miscarriages. (click here) I suppose this was always a possibility with abortions, but, the bonding is very different and the likelihood of providing this service for abortions is bizarre.

Really?

Europe has a very dense interest in the financial sector. Invoking change is difficult. But, Kushner? Well, he has run out of Arab money so he is probably hunting for Europeans to exploit now.

May 28, 2019
By David Reid

Jared Kushner, (click here) senior advisor to President Donald Trump, is set to attend this year’s Bilderberg Meeting in the Swiss town of Montreux this week.

Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg Meeting was designed to foster warmer relations between the United States and Europe. The annual talk fest is considered secretive because guests are not allowed to reveal who said what at the meeting.

The Bilderberg guest list typically includes top politicians, business leaders, financiers, academics and influential members of the media. The event’s website said Tuesday that about 130 participants from 23 countries have confirmed their attendance this year.

Aside from Kushner, this year’s list of attendees features French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, Credit-Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger are also confirmed....

European Liberals made gains.

May 26, 2019
By Viktoria Dendrinous and Birgit Jennen

Margrethe Vestager (click here) is eyeing a path to become the first woman atop the EU, as focus shifts from the results of the bloc-wide elections to leaders’ haggling over who’ll be put at the helm of the European Commission.

They are fighting corruption. There is a distinct rise in power for women.

The Liberal Danish EU antitrust chief, who has made a name for herself by taking on U.S. tech giants, hasn’t kept shy about her intention to seize the EU’s most powerful post, calling for gender balance in the upper echelons of the European Union and for an end to the center-right’s hold on power in Brussels.

EU leaders will hold a special summit on Tuesday to kick off a first round of horsetrading over top EU jobs that could be mired in stalemate. At stake isn’t just the leadership of the commission, which has major powers on key issues such as competition and trade, but also that of the European Central Bank. This means the final compromise could affect the EU’s economic policy making for the next decade.

Any time there is focus on banking and changing rules and regs there is always a huge power struggle regardless of the election vote. It is time the Europeans that want to fight corruption, actually do it with a leader in Margrethe Vestager that has a PROVEN RECORD (click here). The Europeans need to stand up for her and let their EU leaders know they are under scrutiny for any further corruption allowed within the EU now that the vote is registered. The election is only the beginning for moral advocacy, not the end.

The haggling over the top roles comes at a tricky time for Europe’s traditional political groups. While mainstream EU parties held their ground against the assault from populists in elections for the bloc’s Parliament, that was largely thanks to gains from pro-EU Liberals and Greens....

Donald Trump foments hate.

He can't embrace White Nationalism/White Supremacism while signing a bi-partisan bill with it's roots in years of research that BEGINS to reduce prison populations. Donald Trump had no choice but to sign the bill because it would have passed the House and Senate with enough votes to overcome any pocket veto.

...A rare coalition (click here) of conservatives, liberals, activists, prosecutors and defense attorneys — spanning the political spectrum — pushed senators to pass the "First Step Act" by a final vote of 87-12.

The House is expected to take up the Senate version of the bill at a later date. The House passed a similar version of the bill back in May by a wide margin, 360-59....

Trump turned the signing of the bill into a campaign moment in the White House with an assembly of people that would provide the image of his diversity. Donald Trump has no diversity, not unlike many others on the extreme right, unless it will serve election ambitions.

Besides his lack of diversity, I found it astounding Trump never participated in ceremonies on Memorial Day. What was he doing abroad during a holiday that commemorates our war dead? That surprised me. Even his re-election ambitions didn't prevent his overseas travel.

Donald Trump's White House has been a revolving door of partisan hacks that have used their cabinet position to create a wealth of which they personally benefited. Trump set up a wall of ethics between himself and his appointees in order to keep the corruption that was occurring across the USA away from his image. He never opposed any of the corruption being carried out while he enforced his ethics wall.

That said, the USA needs to find a suitable president in 2020 that will uphold our values, our dignity and provide a sound footing for our children and grandchildren.

The economics under Trump is nothing more than regulation disruption or attempts to dissolve them. There are always monies waiting to be made behind regulations. That is not economic growth, that is an economic retreat. That is not new. Reagan did the same thing. When is real economic growth going to take hold in the USA without the ridiculous retreat into old world economics? If the old world economics of Trump were removed from the USA, the country actually lost ground.

...The 2.2% rate is also a significant slowdown (click here) from the June and September quarter’s 4.2% and 3.4% results, respectively. While the government shutdown played a factor, it probably only impacted the growth rate by 0.1% to 0.2%. Overall, it appears that Trump’s tax cuts had only a temporary effect and were more of a sugar rush than a game changer....

The tax bill provided a surge of liquidity in the USA economy. That bill has worn off. It was artificial and a one time uptick that was to serve as a reason to vote Republican.

There still is the working poor. Their economic relief still doesn't exist. Trump has been cutting back aspects of their well being, such as food stamps and Medicaid. Those reductions are expected to continue and grow. The working poor has work, but, their ability to improve their status has not changed. The way they spend their income changed, but, their status has not improved. 

These are all old world strategies to punish the poor as if they are simply too lazy to achieve. The working poor have never worked harder.

The reasons to re-election Trump do not exist. I think he is being primaried and those still involved with the Republican Party should take that primary seriously.

If there isn't a viable and moral answer to the Republican nominee for 2020, it is obvious the death of Senator John McCain was the death of any moral conscience of the Republicans.